From: "Richard Singer" <ricinger-AT-inch.com>
Subject: AUT: Trapped Inside the NYC "Satellite Rally"
Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 22:16:22 -0500


As news comes in about the big peaceful rally along First Avenue, people
should be aware that there was a "Satellite Rally" (as a friend called it)
created by the police along Third Avenue and Lexington Avenue, between 50th
and 53rd Streets.  Basically, the police used cars, horses, saw horeses,
barricades and borrowed public buses to pen in a few thousand
people trying to get to the big rally.  The pushed the crowd until it was
tight enough that everyone was shoved up against each other with nowhere to
go, and they made some arrests and did some pepper spraying too.

The excuse for all of this, I think, was that we had been marching without a
permit (since NY City hasn't been granting anyone a permit to march for
quite a while).  However, whether or not a march was planned, it's hard to
imagine how this large number of people heading to a rally and packing the
streets could do anything but fall into an illegal march (in fact, I would
guess that many simply fell into this march on their way over with no
original intention of defying any permit laws).

Another theory, as a friend related to me, is that much of this was a tactic
designed to contain the "Bad Protestors."  Much of this march had originated
from the NYC Public Library, which had been the meeting place for the
Carnival Block, the Anti-Capitalist Bloc, and other more radical factions.
(There'd also been some radical and anarchist factions gathering at 59th
St./Columbus Circle.  I don't know at this point, however, whether any of
those groups were also penned in -- but I would guess that they were.)

So, anyway, that's my report from NYC...  Being trapped, penned in, and
harassed by the police.  That's my experience of the glorious anti-war
rally...kind of like my experiences of many other protests as well.  (In
fact, this was eerily reminiscent to me of  the anti-WEF protests one year
ago, where we got penned in in exactly the same places.  Only difference is
there, the police actually attacked some of the actually permitted marchers
much more enthusiastically, and protestors seemed to be better trained and
more coordinated at protecting themselves (linking arms, wearing goggles,
etc.).)

Now the question is whether this kind of police bullying and suppression of
the right to assemply will be further tolerated if huge such numbers of
people continue to turn out against the war.  The anti-war movement is
pretty passive by nature and easily contained, but you never know what might
happen...


Richard








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